After adding safety John Johnson III to their secondary on Tuesday, the Browns hit the NFL Free Agency market again to find a corner to pair with Denzel Ward. Thursday afternoon, the Browns signed ex-Rams cornerback Troy Hill to a four-year, $24 million deal.
Browns Sign Troy Hill to Multi-Year Deal
Hill will be 30 by the time the NFL gets underway in the fall. He had a break-out year in 2020 for Brandon Staley and the Los Angeles Rams defense. Hill totaled 77 tackles and three interceptions this past season. On top of that, of those three interceptions, he returned two for touchdowns. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown.
Troy Hill will join his former Rams teammate John Johnson III in the Browns secondary this year. He started all 16 games for the Rams this season. However, expectations will be much higher for Hill in Cleveland. He will most likely go into training camp as the number two corner on the Browns depth chart.
Troy Hill Career Stats
Age: 29 | Games Played: 73
Tackles: 218 | Tackles For Loss: 4
Interceptions: 7 | Passes Defended: 29
Touchdowns: 3 | Games Started: 39
Grading the Signing
Overall, this signing is very different from the Takkarist McKinley signing. The Browns know exactly what they are getting in Hill — an above average cover corner that had an excellent past season. Cleveland has now added two defensive starters from the best defense in the NFL last year. I don’t hate the move, but would have rather the Browns have looked into Adoree’ Jackson or Richard Sherman, and maybe they still will.
But with the Hill signing, the Browns now know they have an above average corner playing opposite Denzel Ward. The secondary is in no way “fixed,” but it’s definitely a hell of a lot better than it was a week ago.
Grade: B
